COLLEGE BASKETBALL NATIONAL ROUNDUP : No. 10 St. John’s Wakes Up, Beats Niagara

Malik Sealy and 10th-ranked St. John’s were on their way to a laugher in their opener against Niagara when the joke suddenly was on them.

But Sealy scored 24 points and helped lead a late run Saturday night that lifted the Redmen to a 73-64 victory over the Purple Eagles at New York.

“They were ready for us,” Sealy said. “The defense you saw down the stretch, that’s how we have to play all the time.”

Niagara, trailing by 17 points late in the first half, tied the game, 59-59, with 6:57 left in the game on a basket by 7-foot Sean Shiano. Sealy scored on a dunk on the next possession by St. John’s, sparking a 9-0 spurt.

No. 12 Kansas 122, Maryland Baltimore County 58--Richard Scott scored 22 points and the Jayhawks downed the Retrievers at Lawrence, Kan., for their 19th consecutive home-court victory.

Seven Jayhawks scored in double figures, including all three of their highly touted freshmen. Ben Davis made his debut with 18, Greg Osterag had 15 and Greg Gurley scored 11.

No. 13 Oklahoma State 67, Purdue 48--Byron Houston and Darywn Alexander scored 19 points each and the Cowboys used a 14-3 run in the second half to rally past the Boilermakers in the second round of the Big Apple NIT at Stillwater, Okla.

The Cowboys (2-0) outscored Purdue, 21-4, at the free-throw line in advancing to the tournament semifinals Wednesday night in New York.

Woody Austin scored 24 points for Purdue.

No. 14 Utah 58, Texas Arlington 57--Jimmy Soto scored 11 points and Byron Wilson added nine as the Utes withstood a late rally by the Mavericks at Salt Lake City.

Paul Afeaki’s free throw with 32 seconds left broke a 57-57 tie, and Texas Arlington’s Ronnie Pruitt missed a short shot with two seconds left.

The Utes led, 48-33, after a basket by Barry Howard with 12:44 left. The Mavericks came back with a 22-7 run during the next nine minutes to tie the game, 55-55, on a three-point basket by Eric Gore, who had 18 points.

No. 17 Alabama 76, Davidson 59--Robert Horry scored 22 points and the Crimson Tide scored 13 consecutive points early in the second half and downed the Wildcats at Davidson, N.C.

Davidson closed to within 42-37 with 15:55 left on a three-pointer by Janko Narat, who scored 12 points, but Latrell Sprewell made two three-pointers to spark Alabama’s run, which increased the lead to 55-37 with 13:04 left.

Freshman Cedric Moore added 17 points for the Crimson Tide, James Robinson had 14 and Sprewell scored 12.

Pat Holloway had 11 points for Davidson, which did not shoot a free throw.

No. 19 Oklahoma 95, West Texas 79--Bryan Sallier and Brent Price scored 23 points apiece as the Sooners pulled away to beat the Buffaloes at Norman, Okla.

West Texas trailed, 55-41, early in the second half, but rallied to tie the score, 58-58, on a 17-3 surge, the last seven from Walter Roese.

The Buffaloes stayed close, 66-65, on a three-pointer by Scott Caldwell, but Oklahoma scored the next nine points.

No. 21 Iowa 101, Maryland Eastern Shore 45--Rodell Davis scored 14 points and Troy Skinner came off the bench to add 13 as the Hawkeyes routed the Hawks at Iowa City.

Iowa used a 25-5 spurt midway through the first half to open a 45-21 lead at halftime over the Hawks (0-1). Davis scored 13 of Iowa’s first 19 points, but saw limited playing time the rest of the way because of an upset stomach.

No. 22 Wake Forest 87, North Carolina Greensboro 59--Chris King scored 26 points and Rodney Rogers added 20 as the Deacons defeated the Spartans at Winston-Salem, N.C.

It was the Division I debut for North Carolina Greensboro, which played 24 seasons in Divisions II and III. It was also the first time the Spartans played an Atlantic Coast Conference team.

Steve Johnson scored 24 points for Greensboro.

No. 25 Louisville 102, Howard 73--Greg Minor scored 16 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in his collegiate debut as the Cardinals trounced the Bison at Louisville.

Louisville outscored Howard, 20-1, to build a 55-22 lead late in the first half, scoring the last 16 points in a row.

Minor sat out last season under Proposition 48 guidelines.

REGIONAL HIGHLIGHTS

EAST

Demetrius Dudley scored 33 points, leading Hofstra past Navy, 85-62, at Hempstead, N.Y.

MIDWEST

Herb Jones scored 27 points, including two free throws with eight seconds left to clinch to Cincinnati’s 72-69 victory over American in the championship game of the Bearcat Classic at Cincinnati. . . . Askia Jones hit five three-pointers and scored 19 points to lead Kansas State to a 103-65 victory over Texas San Antonio at Manhattan, Kan. Mike Ferguson scored 24 points for the Road Runners.

SOUTH

Tom Gugliotta scored nine of his career-high 33 points in a 16-2 run late in the second half to lift North Carolina State to an 80-69 victory over Florida International at Raleigh, N.C. . . . Alphonso Ford scored 31 points to lead Mississippi Valley State to a 105-97 victory over Oral Roberts at Itta Bena, Miss. Ray Thompson scored 28 points for the Titans.

WEST

Adam Keefe scored 23 points and pulled down a crucial defensive rebound with 10 seconds left to lead Stanford to a 68-64 victory over Rice in the championship game of the Apple Invitational at Palo Alto. . . . Willie Banks scored 25 points and Vladimir McCrary had a three-point play with 14 seconds left to lift New Mexico a 91-85 victory over Duquesne in the championship game of the Lobo Classic at Albuquerque. . . . Dell Demps had 23 points and eight rebounds to lead Pacific past Loyola (Md.), 90-82, in the consolation game of the Apple Invitational. Michael Reese scored 34 points for Loyola. . . . Tracy Gipson, who scored 23 points, made a tiebreaking free throw with 40 seconds left and Valparaiso rallied from a 21-point deficit to defeat Air Force, 73-68, at Colorado Springs, Colo.

SOUTHWEST

Sam Mack scored 15 of his 23 points in the first half as Houston routed Villanova, 79-49, at Houston. Lance Miller had 18 points for the Wildcats. . . . Jesse Ratliff scored 25 points and North Texas spoiled the debut of James Dickey as Texas Tech coach with an 81-75 victory at Lubbock. Will Flemons scored 18 points for the Red Raiders.